A system and method for ophthalmological imaging is provided for use with a mobile processing device, wherein the mobile processing device comprises a camera lens, light source, and processor configured to process images captured, received, and/or delivered by the mobile processing device. The mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system comprises housing segments, circuitry, lights, and a frustum cone, wherein the frustum cone comprises reference lines of a plurality of circular, frusto-conical, alternating transparent and opaque concentric rings in the conical surface in optical alignment with the mobile processing device's camera lens and subject's central cornea and/or tear-film layer(s). Reflections of the reference lines off the cornea and/or tear-film layer are imaged by the mobile processing device and analyzed by software applications downloaded to and/or accessed by the smart-phone's processor(s), wherein data of shape, structure, composition, function, and/or power of the cornea and/or tear-film layer(s) are determined by methods comprising one or more image processing and/or computer vision functions configured to produce topographic data. The processor of the mobile processing device can provide and/or receive specific information to/from other instruments and/or users through a communications network.
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1. An ophthalmological instrument system configured to a mobile processing device having an imaging system comprising at least one from the group comprising a computer processor(s), and a communications module(s), comprising:
a mobile processing device housing segment removably attached to a mobile processing device, and removably or irremovably attached to a frustum cone housing segment, wherein said mobile processing device housing segment comprises apertures coincident and/or coaxial with the mobile processing device's camera lens(es) and light source(s);
a frustum cone segment securely connected within said frustum cone housing segment in a fixed position in optical alignment with said mobile processing device's camera lens(es) and at least one from the group comprising subject's central cornea, tear-film layer(s), and target source(s), whereby said frustum cone segment comprising a pattern(s) is configured to project an illuminated said pattern(s) onto at least one from said group comprising, cornea, tear-film layer(s), and target source(s) disposed on the mouth-end/distal-end of said frustum cone segment; and
a light(s) housing segment removably secured to said frustum cone housing segment, wherein a homogenously illuminating ring-light(s) is removably fitted to evenly illuminate said frustum cone segment whereby said frustum cone housing segment provides a controlled light environment within said frustum cone housing segment and about said frustum cone segment, enabling said mobile processing device's camera lens(es) to image reflections of said illumination pattern(s) from at least one from said group comprising, said cornea, said tear-film layer(s), and said target source(s); and
automatically and/or manually generating from said image(s) output of at least one from the group, comprising, shape, structure, thickness, composition, function, power, and topographic map(s) of the data.
13. The method for using an ophthalmological instrument system configured to a mobile processing device having an imaging system comprising at least one from the group comprising a computer processor(s), and a communications module(s), comprising:
securely positioning said mobile processing device into a mobile processing device housing segment of system, wherein the mobile processing device's camera lens(es) is unobstructedly coaxial with the optical axis of at least one from the group comprising subject's central cornea(s), tear-film layer(s), and target source(s);
positioning the mouth-end/distal-end of a housed frustum cone segment comprising at least one of the group comprising a Placido's disk(s), and a pattern(s) adjacent to at least one from said group, comprising said subject's cornea, tear-film layer(s), and target source and directing subject's fixation along system's said optical axis into said mobile processing device's camera lens(es) and/or innermost center ring of said frustum cone segment;
illuminating said frustum cone segment comprising at least one of said group comprising Placido's disk(s), and pattern(s), for an evaluation period by powering ring-light(s) and vertex-angulation positioning light(s), wherein said evaluation period is a greater time than a picture-taking period;
receiving at said mobile processing device's camera lens(es), a reflected image(s) comprising at least one of said group comprising Placido's disk(s), and pattern(s) off of at least one of said group comprising, said subject's cornea(s), said tear-film layer(s), and said target source(s);
displaying on a display screen(s) of said mobile processing device, said reflected Placido's disk(s) and/or pattern(s) image off of at least one of said group, comprising said subject's cornea(s), tear-film layer(s), and target source(s);
moving said ophthalmological instrument system configured to a mobile processing device with removably secured said mobile processing device until said vertex-angulation positioning light(s) triangulating a plurality of focal points display a singularized focal point on said mobile processing device's display screen(s);
capturing said reflected Placido's disk image(s) and/or pattern(s) of at least one of said group, comprising subject's cornea(s), tear-film layer(s), and target source(s) when said vertex-angulation positioning light(s) are singularly focused at pre-selected vertex focal point, directly and/or remotely, manually and/or automatically;
comparing the positioning of a plurality of data points of said reflected Placido's disk image(s) and/or pattern(s) of at least one of said group comprising subject's cornea(s), tear-film layer(s), and target source(s) with data of a plurality of corresponding data points from images of a plurality of reference/calibration spheres;
producing at least one from the group comprising, shape, structure, thickness, composition, function, power, and topographic map(s) of at least one from the group, comprising, subject's cornea(s), tear-film layer(s), and target source(s) based on the results of the comparison; and
sharing of said reflected Placido's disk image(s) and/or pattern(s) and/or sharing of at least one from the group comprising, shape, structure, thickness, composition, function, power, and topographic map(s) of at least one from the group comprising subject's cornea(s), tear-film layer(s), and target source(s), and/or additional information, through a communications network to at least one from the group comprising, a network of computer systems, scientists, medical professionals, and students.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/236,841 filed on Oct. 2, 2015 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention comprises a system and method for obtaining, measuring, analyzing, translating, and/or interpreting captured and/or received and/or delivered, qualitative and/or quantitative parameters of a surface(s) and/or layer(s) and, in particular, concerning a corneal topography system and method that is adapted to a mobile processing device.
It is understood that the shape of the cornea accounts for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power and that disturbances in its shape contribute to changes in the eye's refractive status. The cornea substantially contributes to an eye exhibiting either emmetropia or ametropia, wherein an emmetropic eye manifests without refractive error; in other words, a normal refraction of light rays by an eye. An ametropic eye is an eye that comprises nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hypermetropia/hyperopia), and/or possess different powers in different meridians and/or axes (astigmatism); in other words, a faulty refraction of light rays by the eye. Such variations in shape result in incident light rays being defracted to establish focal point(s) in front of the retina, on the retina, behind the retina, and/or in combinations thereof. As a consequence, the cornea is a source of focus for a plethora of surgical techniques and for contact lens and spectacle corrections. It is appreciated that detailed corneal information is essential to properly diagnose and treat patients, and that the advent of corneal topography serves in this capacity. Corneal topographers are instruments used to measure the anterior, and sometimes posterior, surface curvatures of the cornea. Most corneal topographers use a design that consists of a series of concentric circles of alternating black and white rings known as the Placido disk. In 1880, Portuguese ophthalmologist Antonio Placido, viewed the reflections of a painted flat disk of alternating black and white rings from the cornea and deduced that the reflected contour line patterns indicate a shape and power of the eye. More advanced corneal topographers are conically shaped to slightly parallel the convexity of the cornea and are illuminated so as to project the rings onto the cornea (as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,073). The reflected ring patterns and any disturbances and/or deformations to the concentric ring contours are captured by photography and/or videography through the center of the disk and reconstructed with large, expensive, non-portable hardware and software to generate a corneal topography. Attempts have been made to make corneal topography a more portable tool (as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,565) yet still resting on the computational power of a separate computer system. A more recent attempt utilized a flat panel display wherein the display projects markings onto the cornea (as in U.S. Pat. No. 2016/0000322 A1). No such systems have been linked with mobile processing device technology for image capture, image reception, image delivery, image processing, and/or telemedicine. Furthermore, no such systems perform image analysis and/or generate topographic constructs and/or reconstructs comprising a mobile processing device and its camera lens(es) and/or processor(s) via methods of image processing and/or computer vision and/or scene understanding functions.
Telemedicine is basically defined as remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology. Mobile processing devices, specifically smart-phones, are an unparalleled aspect of telemedicine and are currently being used as sophisticated medical devices. Global mobile-cellular subscriptions have grown to nearly 7 billion in 2014 and 90% of healthcare professionals report using a smart-phone in practice. With the high smart-phone penetration and rapidly growing global telecommunications infrastructure, mobile processing devices in telemedicine provide an unprecedented opportunity in healthcare. Hence, exploiting the existing smart-phone infrastructure to monitor and treat health conditions, and/or to conduct epidemiological health assessments, and/or in the arenas of basic and/or clinical research, serves as a low-cost healthcare method. In eye care alone there are nearly 350 ophthalmology/optometry-based applications, and according to scholarship, this is only the beginning of the uses of mobile processing device technology in eye care. Furthermore, the benefit of better patient care via accurate, more affordable and portable equipment, meets the criteria and/or procedural codes for managed care reimbursement(s).
When considering the potential demand for a system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device, it is most convenient to consider the clinical indications for corneal topography and to adapt the technology to a more affordable, portable, and ubiquitous device. Every ophthalmologic and optometric academic institution has at least one corneal topographer, and more and more clinical practitioners use topography in the management of their patients, however, cost has kept most independent eye care practitioners from purchasing corneal topographers. The present invention of a system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device satisfies the medical and clinical standards of care, is unparalleled in outreach and research utility, and is economically advantageous.
Corneal topography is a critical tool used to assess and properly treat patients. The utility of corneal topography is to obtain refractive error values, to establish biometric parameters for laser refractive and implantable artificial lens surgeries, to aid in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating corneal dystrophies, to help practitioners properly fit soft, rigid, hybrid, and/or therapeutic/drug delivery contact lenses, and to accurately prescribe spectacle correction(s). Since more than 80% of all contact lens wearers report going to an optometrist, the present invention will benefit optometric clinicians, residents, and students in private practice(s), retail chains, health centers, and in academic institutions by offering a more affordable, practical, convenient, and ubiquitous option for corneal topography. More still, are ophthalmologic indications for corneal topography. Statistically, cataract surgery is of the top three most common ambulatory surgeries performed in the United States per year at over 3 million. Sadly, yet preventatively, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in developing countries, accounting for 51% of all blind persons worldwide. Furthermore, nearly 1-million American persons per year are reported to have cosmetic corneal refractive surgery and over 1-million Americans have had a corneal transplant. Corneal disease is also a major cause of worldwide blindness. Since the majority of worldwide corneal blindness and vision impairment affect those of lower socio-economic standing, the preferred embodiment of the present invention of a system for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device and a method comprising a dedicated software system of image analysis by image processing and/or computer vision and/or scene understanding functions will have unparalleled institutional, clinical, and field potential. More indications of corneal topography include corneal cross-linking (CXL) and/or corneal reshaping technologies/orthokeratology (CRT/ortho-K). Nearly two in one thousand people are affected by keratoconus world-wide. According to The Cornea Research Foundation, CXL is at the forefront of keratoconus treatment. Its utility rests on serial corneal topographs and the treatment is pending FDA approval as the standard of care for the management of keratoconus. The medical standard of care indicates corneal topography for the millions of cataract, transplant, and refractive surgeries in the US alone. The portability and versatility of a system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device would offer surgeons real-time and/or serial corneal topographs pre, peri, and post-operatively. A system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device would also be the platform to collect, analyze, and publish novel, rapidly assessed epidemiologic studies. This invention is secondary to the plethora of research dedicated to making use of sophisticated mobile processing device technology (camera, light source, enhancements/editions, software applications) and linking it to bettering patient eye care, globally. The invention does not reinvent the topographer. The essence of the invention is to harness the novel utility of corneal topography via image processing and/or computer vision and/or scene understanding functions, and in the preferred embodiment, linking it to mobile processing devices with the criteria that topography, and topography via image processing and/or computer vision and/or scene understanding functions is non-obvious when linked to a mobile processing device(s). The indications for a system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device is academically and clinically necessary and the market demand for a cheaper, convenient, versatile, effective, and ubiquitous tool has become paramount. Further areas of applicability of the present invention are apparent in the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed descriptions and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for the purposes of illustration only. They do not intend to limit the scope or utility of the invention.
It is an object of the present invention to adapt a corneal topographer to a smart-phone and/or any mobile communications and/or computing device that operates as a photograph and/or video, hereinafter collectively referred to as image(s), capture and/or receiving and/or delivering device, hereinafter collectively defined as mobile processing device(s). Under the preferred embodiment, the high resolution camera features and/or functions, computing and/or processing power, storage volume, available and creatable applications, and/or communications potential of the smart-phone would allow for image capture, reception, and/or delivery of the reflected ring projections, construction, reception, and/or delivery of corneal topographies, and/or sharing of the information through a communications network(s). It is another object of the present invention to provide an easier and cheaper method of constructing corneal topography and to qualify and quantify corneal surface tear quality from the reflected ring patterns by using image processing and/or computer vision and/or scene understanding functions to analyze the reflected images captured, received, and/or delivered. In the preferred embodiment, software application(s) comprising algorithm(s) and/or operator(s) comprising one or more image processing and/or computer vision and/or scene understanding functions, is configured to produce qualitative (saturation, density, contrast, and/or color scaled) and/or quantitative (identified axes, radii of curvature, and/or dioptric power/magnitude of the corneal surface(s) and/or layer(s), and/or tear-film layer(s)) information and/or two dimensional and/or three dimensional map(s) and/or printings and/or topography(ies) and/or histogram(s) of a target source(s) and/or cornea(s) and/or tear-film layer(s).
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the advantages of a system and method for ophthalmological imaging comprising a mobile processing device compared to current technology includes an easier and cheaper method of corneal topographic image collection, capture, and/or analysis; adaptability to the ubiquity of smart-phones and/or other mobile processing devices; portability in outreach; utility for the mobility impaired, infant, and/or under anesthetic ocular examinations; utility in modular medicine; ease of network communications; and/or research applications. The application of this technology can have global epidemiological implications in rapid assessment studies of vision impairments and avoidable blindness initiatives. Furthermore, the utility in animal studies to generate models for human clinical trials are additional exemplary embodiments. More still, current topographers are large, expensive, and essentially non-mobile. This is a more affordable and more portable alternative to current corneal topographic systems. Other objects, advantages, and applications of the present invention will become apparent from the description in which embodiments of the present invention are described. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention provides a system and method for ophthalmological imaging for use with a mobile processing device, wherein the mobile processing device comprises a camera lens(es), light source(es), and processor(s) configured to process images captured, received, and/or delivered by the mobile processing device. The mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system comprises a mobile processing device housing segment, circuitry and circuitry housing segment, a battery cover, a frustum cone housing segment, optimization lens(es), an optimization lens(es) and/or camera lens(es) tube, a frustum cone segment, ring-light(s), vertex-angulation positioning light(s), and a light(s) housing segment. The housing segments are capable of housing and/or partially housing respective units. The frustum cone segment comprises reference lines wherein an axial hole is provided and a plurality of circular, frusto-conical, alternating transparent and opaque, illuminated, concentric rings are provided in the conical surface about the hole in optical alignment with the mobile processing device's camera lens and subject's central cornea, and/or tear film layer(s), and/or target source. The vertex-angulation positioning light(s) are embedded within the mouth-end/distal-end walls of the frustum cone segment. The optimization lens(es) and lens tube are provided partially within the frustum cone and partially within the circuitry housing segment proximal to the camera lens(es) and in optical alignment with the frustum cone hole, the mobile processing device's camera lens, and the subject's central cornea, and/or tear-film layer(s), and/or target source. The mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system may be illuminated by the mobile processing device's own camera light source and/or preferably by a ring-light(s) embedded at the distal end of the frustum cone segment within the light(s) housing segment. The mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system is preferably used in combination with a smart-phone whereby the reflected plurality of concentric rings off the cornea, tear-film, and/or target source are captured, received, and/or delivered by the smart-phone camera lens(es) and/or media storage system(s) and processed by methods comprising image processing, computer vision, and/or scene understanding functions to determine data of shape, structure, composition, function, and/or power of the subject cornea(s), and/or tear-film layer(s), and/or target source(s). In the method of the invention this is provided by (a) positioning the eye on the optical axis; (b) illuminating the eye through the frustum cone segment having a center and center opening at the center through which the mobile processing device's camera lens(es) is situated, where the center being on the optical axis and the frustum cone segment having rings (Placido's disk) concentric about the optical axis; (c) observing and/or capturing an image of the Placido disk reflected from the eye along the optical axis, whereby the vertex-angulation light(s) are singularly focused and the entire and/or any portion of the cornea, and/or tear-film, and/or target source reflects images of the rings from the frustum cone segment spaced from the center.
The system and method for ophthalmologic imaging adapted to a mobile processing device comprises software applications downloaded to and/or accessed by the smart-phone's processor(s) to analyze captured, received, and/or delivered images of a subject's cornea, and/or tear-film layer(s), and/or target source and determine data of shape, structure, composition, function, state, and/or power of the subject cornea(s), and/or tear-film layer(s), and/or target source(s) by methods comprising algorithm(s) and/or operator(s) comprised of one or more image processing and/or computer vision functions configured to produce qualitative and/or quantitative information, two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional map(s), printings, topography(ies), and/or histogram(s) of subject cornea(s), and/or tear-film layer(s), and/or target source(s).
The processor(s) of the mobile processing device and/or dedicated server system(s) can provide specific information to other instruments and/or users and/or receive specific information from other instruments and/or users through a communications network(s).
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed descriptions provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The figures demonstrate the basis of the design and method of a system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device, specifically the iPhone 5®. The figures/drawings constitute a part of the specification and include exemplary embodiments of the preferred embodied system and method for ophthalmological imagining adapted to a mobile processing device, which may be embodied in various forms, and are described by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention are either magnified or minified and/or simplified and that to facilitate an understanding of the invention some figures are not necessarily to scale and/or detail.
Described herein is a mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100 which removably attaches to a mobile processing device 10 that operates as an image capture communications device, and preferably a smart-phone 12, in an aligned relationship along the optical axis 90 of the camera lens 14a and the cornea 204 of the test eye 202 of the subject patient 200 and/or target source 203, 204. In the particular embodiment described herein, the mobile processing device that operates as an image capture communications device 10 is a smart-phone 12. The mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100 in-use with a mobile processing device 10, allows the operator to capture, record, save, analyze, and/or transmit images of the cornea 204 and anterior segment of the eye 202. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the operators of the present invention can be a range of scientists/researchers and/or a range of medical practitioners, such as optometrists, ophthalmologists, other medical or osteopathic physicians, nurses, technicians, residents, students, and caregivers, as well as layperson(s), such as guardians and/or subject patients.
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The mobile processing device could be any image capture communications device that has a camera system. Non-limiting examples of such mobile processing devices include: Brand-independent or operating-system-independent smart-phones, Apple's iPhone® or the iOS operating system, Google's™ Android™ devices and operating system, Blackberry® Windows Mobile®, and other mobile communications and/or image capture devices, such as tablet, laptop, or desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), MP3 players, iPads, iPods, digital cameras and camcorders, smart-watches, and smart-glasses. The preferred embodiment is via a smart-phone and it will be appreciated that the assembly of the present invention can be applied to and used with any viewing instrument and any image capture, processing, and/or communications device. It will also be appreciated that some and/or all components of the assembly can be designed and/or manufactured, additively and/or subtractively, entirely and/or separately and then be connected removably and/or irremovably, through means known to one skilled in the art. This includes, but is not limited to, those skilled in welding, glue, epoxy, polishing, fabrication, machining, molding, lathing, milling, rapid prototyping, and/or two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional and/or modular designing, modeling, and/or printing, and/or solid free-form fabrication. The assembly can be made of plastic(s) and/of any methacrylate resin(s) and/or acrylics, resins, rubber, metals, alloys, glass, Styrofoam, wood, and/or any combination thereof.
Each one of the means for removably attaching or otherwise connecting or securing the mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100 to any mobile processing device 10, and/or the irremovably connected segments, and/or to the removable light(s) housing segment 70 and ring-light(s) 66a, and/or the removable light(s) housing segment 70 and the frustum cone housing segment 50, and/or, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100 to a smart-phone 12, may be any means known to one skilled in the art. Such connections include but are not limited to, a ring-lock clamp, a twist-lock mount, a twist-fit, a snap-fit mount, a screw-fit, a screw mount, a bayonet mount, a friction-fit attachment, sliding slots or grooves, slotted tabs, hook and loop fasteners, magnetism, adhesively-joined attachments, aperture coupling, c-mounting and/or t-mounting, annular rings with set screws, other forms of clamps, and any other method for connecting or securing the segments. As illustrated in
In general, the present invention provides a novel method of corneal topography by the invention of a mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100 that connects to a mobile processing device 10 so that the optical axis 90 of the camera lens 14a of the mobile processing device 10 is aligned along the central axis of the frustum cone segment 64a in a secure manner. As particularly shown in
The mobile processing device housing segment 30 and/or circuitry/circuitry housing segment 32a can be any case, frame, sleeve, clip, or any of the smart-phone 12 or mobile processing device 10 adapted and/or battery-housed cases, that can be sized or adjusted to fit and/or power any fraction of a mobile processing device 10, and be adapted in modular design to the mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100. Additionally, the mobile processing device 10 can be any mobile communications and/or computing device. Non-limiting examples of adaptable ophthalmological instrument system mobile processing devices include analog and digital cameras, desktop and laptop computers, tablets, MP3 players, PDAs, iPods, iPads, smart-phones, smart-watches, and smart-glasses. More still, larger displays may be more favorable for certain users and/or circumstances, and the orientation of the mobile processing device may be vertical, horizontal, and/or in any two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional degree. Such modifications to size and orientation are a matter of choice and should be appreciated that indications of any mobile processing device is an exemplary description and is not limiting to the scope of this invention. Moreover, the mobile processing device circuitry system power source can be comprised of any battery type(s) or of any combination of battery types. Broadly, the batteries and/or rechargeable batteries can be of a chemical and/or a physical nature. A non-exhaustive list of chemical forms include flow, fuel, lead-acid, lithium air, Li-ion, Mg-ion, molten salt, and/or Ni—Cd. A non-exhaustive list of physical forms includes solar cells and nuclear batteries. Furthermore, is that the power supply system/circuitry can be housed within the frustum cone housing segment. Again, such modifications and size preferences are a matter of choice and should be appreciated that indications of any power supply is an exemplary description and is not limiting to the scope of this invention. What's more, various methods and various stimulator designs and sources can be used to construct corneal topographs, and/or to collect and evaluate additional ocular characteristics. Examples of such stimulator sources are sources that provide a checkerboard or dartboard pattern, and lined or spotted grid assembly patterns. Even more, the light source(s) can be of any shape, orientation, location, and/or composition. Non-limiting examples include light emitting diodes (LEDs), infra-red LEDs, halogen, incandescent, fluorescent, fiber optic, and/or natural room lighting and/or natural sources (i.e. sun). The light sources may also be of any color(s), be commanded to change intensity, flicker, and/or color, and/or be clear, coated, or frosted, and/or emanate from the mobile processing device and/or a separate light source(s) within or about the mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system. The optimization lens(es) can also be modified by preference with various coatings, powers, shapes, sizes, positions, filters, polarizations, prisms, mirrors, and/or with adaptive optics. Non-limiting, exemplary embodiments of the present invention include (i) the utility of ocular surface tear quality characterization and analysis, which is carried out by observing and/or analyzing reflected stimulator source patterns, (ii) determining from additionally reflected ring projections from the posterior corneal surface, the posterior corneal surface curvature, (iii) determining all local shape variations on and between the anterior corneal surface and the posterior corneal surface, and (iv) determining the thickness of the cornea. Tear quality characterization and analysis testing can be through image capture after sustained episodes of non-blinking and/or at any moment and in any capacity during and between eye blinking, and/or imaging and/or analyzing the tear-film layer(s) before and after treatment(s), and/or imaging and/or analyzing tear-film birefringence pattern(s). Other methods of constructing topographs are by establishing additional fixation points to create multiple viewing axes. Also, alternate illumination technologies can be used to enhance the contrast and resolution of the reflected patterns. Although the present invention described herein and hereinafter is in detail with reference to a particular preferred embodiment, persons possessing ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications and/or enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims written and as judicially construed according to principles of the law. Therefore, and as earlier mentioned, it should be understood that the detailed descriptions, specific examples, and drawings, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
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Illustrated in
The present invention can be used directly and/or remotely, manually and/or automatically, or as in an exemplary embodiment, be attach to a number of medical devices, i.e. slit-lamp biomicroscope 500, as preferably shown in
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, software applications downloaded to and/or accessed by the smart-phone's processor(s) 20 analyze captured, received, and/or delivered images 300, 302 of a subject's cornea, and/or tear film layer(s), and/or target source 204, 203 and compare and/or determine data of shape, structure, composition, function, and/or power of the subject cornea(s), and/or tear-film layer(s), and/or target source(s) 204, 203 by methods comprising one or more software algorithms and/or operators configured to receive and/or process captured and/or real-time images from and/or to a mobile processing device's camera lens(es) and/or media storage system(s), wherein the algorithm(s) and/or operator(s) comprise one or more image processing and/or computer vision functions including but not limited to segmentation, enhancement, association, decomposition, inversions and/or conversions, thresholding, normalization, sampling, thinning, dilation-erosion (closing) and/or erosion-dilation (opening) morphology(ies); centroid(s), segment(s), length(s), width(s), height(s), radii, diameter(s), area(s), circumference(s), and/or volume(s) detection and/or identification and/or determination; photogrammetry; Affine, Fourier, Hough, generalized Hough, Cao-Deravi, Ioannou, Top-Hat, Pixel, Color, Distance, Canny and/or Deriche transformations and/or primitives and/or invariances; Zernicke polynomials and/or Gaussian operator(s); templates and/or deformable templates; shape, reflectance, shading, contour, edge, direction, color, intensity, texture, contrast and/or motion detection(s); image-based rendering and/or modeling; point spread functions (PSF); RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC); projections, filtering, patching, linking, thresholding, arc-step, arc-length, parameterization, tracking; stereo and/or spacetime stereo correspondence processes; reconstruction, modeling, point-based representation(s), recognition, context and scene understanding, pixelation, and/or feature extraction and matching methods, to produce qualitative and/or quantitative information and/or a two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional topographic map(s) 304 and/or printings and/or a histogram(s) from Placido's disk reflected images 300, 302 of a target source(s) and/or cornea(s) and/or tear-film layer(s) 203, 204.
In one embodiment, the mobile processing device can take, store, and/or transmit still images (photographs). In another embodiment, the same device may record, store, and/or transmit motion images (videos). In yet another embodiment, the same device is capable of taking, storing, and/or transmitting photographs and videos, again, collectively referred as images. In a further embodiment, the image(s) may be used to print two and/or three-dimensional spectacles and/or contact lenses and/or eye-models. In yet a further embodiment, the same device may record, store, and/or transmit audio along with images. The image and/or audio records may be viewed and analyzed either on the same device or on other systems, as described below.
While the present invention is particularly described with reference to the mobile processing device adapted ophthalmological instrument system 100 as it attaches to a smart-phone 12, it will be appreciated that the smart-phone 12 could also be used to connect to other computer systems that may or may not have image capture capabilities. As shown in
The present invention allows a user to capture images 302 of a patient's eye 202 in-office and in out-of-office settings, and to construct corneal topographs 304 in real-time or post hoc. Out-of-office settings might be when it is impractical or impossible to bring traditional equipment capable of imaging the eye. Out-of-office settings include, but are not limited to, mission trips, community outreach health fairs and health screenings, medical volunteerships, and outreach programs. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the smart-phone's computer processor 20 allows the user to communicate with physically present and/or absent medical eye specialists, such as ophthalmologists and optometrists, who may help with the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of the patient subject eye(s); in other words, telemedicine. In an alternate embodiment, the images, and/or other information, may be transmitted and/or transferred from the mobile processing device 10 to a computer system of a network of physicians, researchers/scientists, medical and/or optometric residents, or medical and/or optometric students. In a further embodiment, the information can include patient data and patient medical history to aid medical and/or research personnel in analysis of the images.
It will be appreciated that the present invention of a system and method for ophthalmological imaging adapted to a mobile processing device, in the preferred embodiment, provides eye and non-eye specialists a method of obtaining corneal, tear-film layer(s), and/or target source topographies at a much lower cost than the more traditional corneal topography technology. It will also be appreciated that one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains acknowledges that alternate but functionally equivalent components, materials, designs, and equipment may be used, particularly other image capture, receiving, and/or delivering devices. Specific elements disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting. Rather, the specific elements disclosed serve as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the present invention. Additionally, the terms “substantially”, “approximately” and/or “sustained” as used herein may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change to the basic function to which it is related. Furthermore, the use of definite and/or indefinite articles, especially in the context of the following claims, and similarly used referents, are to be understood to cover the singular and the plural, unless otherwise noted. The use of the terms “comprise(s)”, “comprising”, “has”, “have”, “include(s)”, “including”, and “consist(s)” are to be construed as open-ended terms that means the purpose is “not limited to”. The terms used to describe the connectivity of the segments, units, and/or system is to be construed as meaning in any capacity, whether partly and/or wholly, within and/or about, removably and/or irremovably, unless otherwise noted. Accordingly, the above description is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The above disclosure is thus intended for purposes of illustration and not limitation.
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